Acclaimed Goorie author Melissa Lucashenko has won the $40,000 Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award for her novel Edenglassie.

Announced at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre, the prestigious prize recognises Lucashenko's work, which reimagines Brisbane's history through Indigenous perspectives.

Ms Lucashenko reflected on the effort behind the novel and its growing reach.

"It feels great. Four years of hard yakka was worth it, and the book's finding its readers, which is just as important as the prize money," she said.

She emphasised the impact of literary prizes in ensuring stories like hers reach a wider audience.

"What prizes do is bump your sales, which means that the book is going to be in more people's hands and more classrooms," Ms Lucashenko said.

"And the real story of Brisbane is going to be out there."

Ms Lucashenko acknowledged the responsibility she feels to Indigenous communities with each book she publishes.

"Every time I publish a book, I'm always really mindful of what blackfellas are going to say and whether the community's going to be happy with me or not," she said.

She said the response to Edenglassie has been "really positive", while revealing the prize money aligns closely with her personal mission.

"Every spare cent I have goes towards buying back land or housing," she said.

"That's been my main motivation for the three decades I've been writing – to get Aboriginal land back in Aboriginal hands."

Looking to the future, Ms Lucashenko plans to bring her storytelling to a new genre.

"I'm going to write a crime comedy about an Aboriginal private investigator," she said.

Now in its 23rd year, the Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award celebrates Australian research-based literature.

Ms Lucashenko's win highlights the continued importance of Indigenous stories in shaping Australia's understanding of its history and culture.